Vibecode Tella
track this build5 steps, step by step0%For solo async clips, a recorder plus lightweight trimming and hosted share page can be vibecoded; the paid app wins on design polish and templates.
You are building a lean indie version of Tella. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Tella indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Tella workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Record screen/webcam, combine tracks, trim, render, upload, and generate a clean share page. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - beautiful layouts - browser extension/native polish - templates - team sharing - reliable video hosting If those capabilities are essential, use OBS Studio instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build me a screen recorder with share pages to replace Tella. Requirements: - A local web page (Node + Express on localhost:4600) using getDisplayMedia + getUserMedia: record screen and webcam together, webcam as a circular overlay in the bottom-left, captured with MediaRecorder to webm. - After recording, a trim step: set in/out points on a simple timeline, preview, then render the final 1080p H.264 MP4 with ffmpeg. - One-click publish: rsync the MP4 to my VPS, where a tiny share app serves /v/<id>, a page with the player, title, and my name. Copy the URL to my clipboard. - Share page extras: a poster frame extracted with ffmpeg for the og:image tag, and a view counter in SQLite. Nothing else on the page. - Keep originals and renders in ~/Recordings/YYYY-MM-DD-<title>/. - No accounts, no telemetry; the share pages are the only public surface. - Out of scope: layout templates, zoom/pan effects, and a team library. Trim only, this is not an editor. - README: browser screen-capture permissions, ffmpeg install, VPS + Caddy snippet for the share domain. ## Required capabilities - browser MediaRecorder or desktop capture - ffmpeg for rendering - object storage - small hosted app ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a lean indie version of Tella. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Tella indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Tella workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Record screen/webcam, combine tracks, trim, render, upload, and generate a clean share page. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - beautiful layouts - browser extension/native polish - templates - team sharing - reliable video hosting If those capabilities are essential, use OBS Studio instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build me a screen recorder with share pages to replace Tella. Requirements: - A local web page (Node + Express on localhost:4600) using getDisplayMedia + getUserMedia: record screen and webcam together, webcam as a circular overlay in the bottom-left, captured with MediaRecorder to webm. - After recording, a trim step: set in/out points on a simple timeline, preview, then render the final 1080p H.264 MP4 with ffmpeg. - One-click publish: rsync the MP4 to my VPS, where a tiny share app serves /v/<id>, a page with the player, title, and my name. Copy the URL to my clipboard. - Share page extras: a poster frame extracted with ffmpeg for the og:image tag, and a view counter in SQLite. Nothing else on the page. - Keep originals and renders in ~/Recordings/YYYY-MM-DD-<title>/. - No accounts, no telemetry; the share pages are the only public surface. - Out of scope: layout templates, zoom/pan effects, and a team library. Trim only, this is not an editor. - README: browser screen-capture permissions, ffmpeg install, VPS + Caddy snippet for the share domain. ## Required capabilities - browser MediaRecorder or desktop capture - ffmpeg for rendering - object storage - small hosted app ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a production product version of Tella. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== PRODUCT.md ===== # Tella product brief ## Problem For solo async clips, a recorder plus lightweight trimming and hosted share page can be vibecoded; the paid app wins on design polish and templates. ## Product outcome Record screen/webcam, combine tracks, trim, render, upload, and generate a clean share page. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - browser MediaRecorder or desktop capture - ffmpeg for rendering - object storage - small hosted app ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - beautiful layouts - browser extension/native polish - templates - team sharing - reliable video hosting ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees. ===== ARCHITECTURE.md ===== # Architecture ## Starting brief Build me a screen recorder with share pages to replace Tella. Requirements: - A local web page (Node + Express on localhost:4600) using getDisplayMedia + getUserMedia: record screen and webcam together, webcam as a circular overlay in the bottom-left, captured with MediaRecorder to webm. - After recording, a trim step: set in/out points on a simple timeline, preview, then render the final 1080p H.264 MP4 with ffmpeg. - One-click publish: rsync the MP4 to my VPS, where a tiny share app serves /v/<id>, a page with the player, title, and my name. Copy the URL to my clipboard. - Share page extras: a poster frame extracted with ffmpeg for the og:image tag, and a view counter in SQLite. Nothing else on the page. - Keep originals and renders in ~/Recordings/YYYY-MM-DD-<title>/. - No accounts, no telemetry; the share pages are the only public surface. - Out of scope: layout templates, zoom/pan effects, and a team library. Trim only, this is not an editor. - README: browser screen-capture permissions, ffmpeg install, VPS + Caddy snippet for the share domain. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone. ===== MILESTONES.md ===== # Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations. ===== OPERATIONS.md ===== # Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Tella capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
# Tella indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Tella workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Record screen/webcam, combine tracks, trim, render, upload, and generate a clean share page. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - beautiful layouts - browser extension/native polish - templates - team sharing - reliable video hosting If those capabilities are essential, use OBS Studio instead of pretending the gap is solved.
# Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs".
# Build plan ## Original build brief Build me a screen recorder with share pages to replace Tella. Requirements: - A local web page (Node + Express on localhost:4600) using getDisplayMedia + getUserMedia: record screen and webcam together, webcam as a circular overlay in the bottom-left, captured with MediaRecorder to webm. - After recording, a trim step: set in/out points on a simple timeline, preview, then render the final 1080p H.264 MP4 with ffmpeg. - One-click publish: rsync the MP4 to my VPS, where a tiny share app serves /v/<id>, a page with the player, title, and my name. Copy the URL to my clipboard. - Share page extras: a poster frame extracted with ffmpeg for the og:image tag, and a view counter in SQLite. Nothing else on the page. - Keep originals and renders in ~/Recordings/YYYY-MM-DD-<title>/. - No accounts, no telemetry; the share pages are the only public surface. - Out of scope: layout templates, zoom/pan effects, and a team library. Trim only, this is not an editor. - README: browser screen-capture permissions, ffmpeg install, VPS + Caddy snippet for the share domain. ## Required capabilities - browser MediaRecorder or desktop capture - ffmpeg for rendering - object storage - small hosted app ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden.
# Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
# Tella product brief ## Problem For solo async clips, a recorder plus lightweight trimming and hosted share page can be vibecoded; the paid app wins on design polish and templates. ## Product outcome Record screen/webcam, combine tracks, trim, render, upload, and generate a clean share page. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - browser MediaRecorder or desktop capture - ffmpeg for rendering - object storage - small hosted app ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - beautiful layouts - browser extension/native polish - templates - team sharing - reliable video hosting ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees.
# Architecture ## Starting brief Build me a screen recorder with share pages to replace Tella. Requirements: - A local web page (Node + Express on localhost:4600) using getDisplayMedia + getUserMedia: record screen and webcam together, webcam as a circular overlay in the bottom-left, captured with MediaRecorder to webm. - After recording, a trim step: set in/out points on a simple timeline, preview, then render the final 1080p H.264 MP4 with ffmpeg. - One-click publish: rsync the MP4 to my VPS, where a tiny share app serves /v/<id>, a page with the player, title, and my name. Copy the URL to my clipboard. - Share page extras: a poster frame extracted with ffmpeg for the og:image tag, and a view counter in SQLite. Nothing else on the page. - Keep originals and renders in ~/Recordings/YYYY-MM-DD-<title>/. - No accounts, no telemetry; the share pages are the only public surface. - Out of scope: layout templates, zoom/pan effects, and a team library. Trim only, this is not an editor. - README: browser screen-capture permissions, ffmpeg install, VPS + Caddy snippet for the share domain. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it.
# Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone.
# Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations.
# Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Tella capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
$ choose a build depth, inspect the files, then open the complete pack in your agent · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
They pay because they want a video that looks good without editing or deployment chores.
xbeautiful layouts
xbrowser extension/native polish
xtemplates
xteam sharing
xreliable video hosting
Don't feel like building it? These folks already made it free.
no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Tella pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| pro | $26/user | $13/user | Unlimited videos; clips up to 6 hours; 106 languages; 4K; 60fps export only for videos up to 5 minutes |
| premium | $39/user | $19/user | Custom domain, domain restriction, white-labeling, 60fps and advanced analytics |
| enterprise | custom | — | Custom seats, SSO/SCIM, security, support and procurement |
free tierno free tier; 7-day workspace trial allows unlimited recording, editing, export and sharing, but blocks uploads of existing videos and raw-recording export
billingmonthly + annual (50% lower); plan changes are prorated
hidden costsSSO/SCIM is an add-on on self-serve paid plans and included only with Enterprise; every user requires a paid seat.
verified 2026-08-14 · source ↗
Vibecode Tella
Yes. A competent AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) can build a usable personal Tella replacement in one session with the prompt on this page. It runs on your own machine or server with no subscription.
How much does Tella cost?
Tella costs about $13/month (Pro, checked 2026-07-30), which is $156 per year. That's what you save by replacing it with one prompt.
What do I lose by replacing Tella?
Honestly: beautiful layouts; browser extension/native polish; templates; team sharing; reliable video hosting. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Tella?
Yes: Recordly (Polished screen-and-camera recordings with auto-zoom and editing; still visibly young around audio.) Screenity (A browser extension that records forever, edits enough, then hands you a file or Drive link.) The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.